Lauzon catches Stephens, Johnson rolls on UFN 17 main card

TAMPA, Fla. – If Joe Lauzon (18-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) thought Jeremy Stephens (14-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) was going to be an “easier” bout than he would have faced with previously scheduled opponent Hermes Franca, then “J-Lau” must have been thanking his lucky stars his original foe was nowhere to be found.

“Lil’ Heathen” offered Lauzon all he could handle for the better part of two rounds, but the submission ace eventually locked in a fight-ending arm bar with seconds remaining in the second frame.

Comfortable from his back as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, Lauzon remained in the position for much of the opening frame. Stephens refused to fall prey to any submission attempts on top, and instead he delivered a steady dose of punishment from the top. Lauzon tried briefly to stand, but Stephens dropped him right back to the floor.

The second round saw Stephens briefly on bottom, but the positions quickly changed. With Stephens on top, “Lil’ Heathen” briefly considered allowing Lauzon to his feet as well. However, he elected to push back on Lauzon and ended up paying the price.

Lauzon deftly locked in an arm bar, and Stephens night was immediately over. Stephens tried to escape to no avail, and was forced to tap with 17 seconds remaining in the second round.

Lauzon has now won two-straight contests and eight of his past nine. Stephens falls to 1-2 in his past three outings.

While the final result of the heavyweight bout wasn’t in much question from the opening bell, heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez (5-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) controlled the action throughout. But if the UFC decides to offer an award for biggest heart, Dennis Stojnic (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) would be first in line.

Battered on the outside by Velasquez’s reach advantage, and punished on the inside by a barrage of knees from the Thai-clinch, Stojnic seemed primed to drop at any moment. Velasquez kept the pressure on, but his European opponent simply wouldn’t go away.

As the second round progressed, Velasquez finally elected to utilize his elite-level wrestling pedigree and bring the fight to the floor. Stojnic issued a weak guillotine attempt, but Velasquez escaped and continued the assault.

As the action slowed, both fighters returned to their feet at the referee’s command. Both fighters appeared to believe the directive was give to stand-up the stalled action, but the referee had seen enough and waved off the bout.

The crowd in attendance booed the decision, but Stojnic was taking an unending flow of punishment.

Fighting past the first round for the first time in his career, Velasquez admitted after the bout that he had hoped for an earlier finish.

“I could have finished him a lot better,” Velasquez said. “I didn’t. I’ve just got to learn to relax out here. That’s why I need more ring time.”
In a rousing battle that saw the crowd on the edge of their seats — and on their feet — for the entire duration, lightweight veterans Josh Neer (25-7-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) and Mac Danzig (18-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) put on a back-and-forth effort that will surely merit consideration for the evening’s “Fight of the Night.”

The opening frame featured the two aggressive fighters swinging for the fences, and several of the blows found their way to their mark for each fighter. Neer received a cut for his efforts, and was dropped briefly after attempting an Andrei Arlovski-esque flying knee.

Animated throughout the round, Neer battled through the adversity and nearly locked in a fight-ending triangle choke/arm bar/omo plata combination in the opening five minutes. Danzig survived until the second, but the pressure from Neer would not relent.

The second round saw Danzig underneath Neer for several minutes. Neer made Danzig pay for the mistake, and several vicious elbows poured down from the top position. Danzig was able to escape from the poor position, but working from guard didn’t prove any more effective.

Neer tied up Danzig’s arms from underneath, and the action briefly stalled. “The Dentist” then swiftly worked in a triangle choke, and Danzig was in immediate trouble. Danzig tried desperately to escape, but the hold was tight and forced the tap at 3:36.

Following the bout, Neer maintained his composure amid a chorus of boos from the crowd.

“Honestly I don’t care what you guys think about me,” Neer said. “Love me or hate me, whatever. It don’t matter to me.”

Despite suffering a cut in the opening frame, which Neer attributed to a headbutt, “The Dentist” said he was never in trouble.

“I was never hurt,” Neer said. “I came to this fight ready to die. I wasn’t going to leave without getting a win.”

In the evening’s broadcast opening bout, welterweights Anthony Johnson (7-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Luigi Fioravanti (14-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) were expected to stand to-to-toe in a slugfest. Unfortunately for the much-smaller Fioravanti, he just couldn’t quite get his toes close enough to cause any damage.

Johnson’s reach proved a sizable obstacle throughout the opening round, and Fioravanti could not get inside the outstretched jabs and slapping leg kicks of his opponent. “Rumble” remained calm, almost too calm for the crowd’s liking, but eventually scored with a crushing right hand to the temple. The blow wobbled Fioravanti, and Johnson immediately went in for the kill.

As Fioravanti tried to grab a single-leg takedown, then cover up, but the onslaught was relentless. The blows continued to rain down, and referee Troy Waugh was forced to step in with 21 seconds remaining in the opening period.

Johnson was happy with the win, but told in-cage announcer Joe Rogan he was capable of more.

“I’m happy I got a win, but my performance — man, I could have done so much better,” Johnson said. “I came out sloppy, but I’ll get better. I’m only 24-years-old and I’ve got a lot of improving to do.”

When pressed as to what aspect of his impressive performance he least enjoyed, Johnson said there was little he actually liked.

“Everything,” Johnson said. “I didn’t like the way I came out or nothing. But I still tried to put on a show for the fans, and I hope you guys liked it.”

Johnson has now won two-straight contests, while Fioravanti is 2-2 in his past four bouts.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is probably the greatest female fighter on the planet, which is a tremendous feat. So why are we seemingly so obsessed with arguing about whether she could beat up men?